The lifetime of R&B legend Roberta Flack was celebrated at a star-studded memorial in Harlem, New York’s Abyssinian Baptist Church on Monday, March tenth. Fugees members Ms. Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean made a shock look, performing covers of Flack’s songs.
The duo took on Flack’s basic “The First Time Ever I Noticed Your Face” earlier than delivering Fugees’ model of “Killing Me Softly with His Music,” which launched them into stardom and stays the group’s greatest hit.
As Billboard experiences, Hill prefaced their efficiency with a remembrance of the singer. “We weren’t formally requested to do that as a result of I believe they have been somewhat shy in asking us to attend,” she mentioned. “So we sort of bum-rushed the service as a result of it actually wouldn’t be attainable for us to simply stand by and never take part.”
Calling Flack “past trailblazing,” Hill continued, “Like Nina Simone, she carved out for me a pathway of soulful Black mental chic magnificence that not solely spoke to Black resistance straight in lyric and assertion, however was Black resistance to racism, bigotry and limitations by advantage of its existence.”
“She didn’t simply write in regards to the magnificence; she was the sweetness,” Hill added. “She didn’t simply write about resistance; her existence was a type of resistance. She wrote our tales in types the established authorities of the time couldn’t deny; compositions wrapped with swish classical types and nuances that might not nor couldn’t be dismissed.”
Along with Fugees, Stevie Marvel appeared to ship his personal tribute speech and carried out his music “If It’s Magic.” Watch each performances under, adopted by the complete memorial.
Different attendees of the memorial have been Rev. Al Sharpton, Valerie Simpson, Phylicia Rashad, Dionne Warwick, Alicia Keys, India.Arie, Peabo Bryson and Clive Davis.
Flack handed away on the age of 88 on February twenty fourth. Although her reason behind loss of life was not revealed, she had been battling ALS since 2022.
Final month, Hill and Jean appeared on the SNL50 live performance, the place they carried out “Misplaced Ones,” “Ex-Issue,” “911,” and “Killing Me Softly.”
stevie sang “if it’s magic” for roberta 🥺 this music will probably be 50 years outdated subsequent 12 months… pic.twitter.com/FFQ4zQBlJk
— A.J. Thomas 🎙️✨ (@orangecloudz) March 11, 2025
